


The Assassin's Court

by MilayaMilenZeal



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy XV, Ragnarok Online
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassin!Noctis, F/M, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Secret Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-12-24 18:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12018207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal
Summary: Prompto knew he was in trouble when his brother-in-law informed them they would be infiltrating Insomnia as refugees from Niflheim. There was only so much that could go wrong for those affiliated with the Templars, after all… especially when diving straight into what is known as the Assassin’s Court.Noctis knew from day one that allowing refugees from Niflheim to enter the city would result in trouble someday. Even if there was a majority of actual people seeking refuge from the threat of war, it was only a matter of time before the Templars infiltrated the Assassin’s Court.





	1. Guarding the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> With the Assassin’s Festival now being a thing, I couldn’t NOT write this!

The second Mateus called for him and Hilda, Prompto knew it was bad. Of course, he didn’t say anything of it; he was always wise enough to let his wife do the talking in situations like this. And even when he was addressed personally, he made sure to keep his answers short and to the point, since he knew his brother-in-law hated small-talk. Though that was no surprise when you’re brought up as the son of the Emperor.

To this day, there were still those who doubted Mateus as being a legitimate son of Emperor Aldercapt, but tests had proven his bloodline to be true, even if he was not born from the late Empress. His sister, Hilda, while related to Mateus through their mother, didn’t share the Imperial bloodline, but she was still permitted into Gralea due to her brother’s interference.

But one thing more surprising than the pair’s presence in the capital was Prompto’s in that very same place. One moment he had never been there, and then suddenly there he was, and it was made clear he was there to stay. Though it wasn’t until 8 months later that, for many, the reason became clear in the form of little Aurora… his and Hilda’s daughter.

The assumption of many is that they were in an affair _before_ Prompto’s arrival at Gralea, given that Aurora was born after 8 months… but the simple truth was that the little girl was merely born too early. Which had caused a lot of complications early on, with her growth being slightly stilted, as well as her slower learning curve that was discovered later on in her life. Something that both Mateus and the Emperor were less than pleased with…

Yet, despite everything, Prompto’s love for his little girl had never once diminished. Hilda, too, loved their little girl to no end and was known to spoil her rotten at times. And yet the little girl remained a shy little thing, partially due to the hostility of her uncle, Prompto was sure (even though he would never state this out loud), and even though she could have anything she wanted, she never really asked for anything… aside from her parents coming to tell her a bedtime story.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.

Mateus had _never_ been fond of Prompto, and he wasn’t one to refrain from pointing this out on almost a daily basis if they were to ever run into each other. He was even less fond of Aurora, but Prompto always made sure that he was never left alone with his niece, to ensure he didn’t harm her in any way… because there were some bad rumors going around about Mateus’ manipulation tactics.

Especially since he spent so much time colluding with the Imperial Chancellor.

So for Mateus to call not just for his sister but ALSO for Prompto… that was the first red flag warning Prompto got that something bad was coming. Hilda assured him it would all be fine, but Prompto wasn’t so sure…

The second red flag was when he realized Chancellor Ardyn Izunia was present at the meeting.

He wasn’t sure if Hilda caught the signs, too, but if she did, then she didn’t show it. Then again, since she had been raised as a princess for the past 15 years, she had a lot more experience than him in all this stuff. So he told himself to just keep quiet unless he was addressed, as he usually did.

Mateus was the same as always; dressed in his fancy white and gold garbs with his white-blonde hair hanging around his cheeks in slight curls, while his sharp eyes regarded the entire room (and all those in it) as if he’d smelled something disgusting and was trying to determine the source.

Though Hilda and he were half-siblings, they looked shockingly similar. Hilda had the same curled blonde hair as her brother, though hers was longer, and the same hazel colored eyes, but her eyes weren’t as narrow as Mateus’ eyes appeared to be.

“Ah. Good to see you, sister,” Mateus said with that sickeningly fake smile (Prompto had learned early on to differentiate the fake from real smiles… the latter of which were almost never seen).

Red flag number 3 right there…

“Good afternoon, Mateus,” Hilda said in greeting with a nod, and Prompto returned the gesture (silently, of course). “Has something happened? The messenger said you needed us urgently…” she added as she took her seat at the long table on the opposing side of her brother. Prompto staid standing a little behind his wife; he really didn’t trust this entire situation one bit.

“Yes… I fear something _has_ happened,” Mateus said as his expression turned solemn. “Recent reports have shown that the number of people stricken with the scourge has increased by over 70%, and the estimate is that this number will only continue to rise if things continue as they are.”

That was definitely worrisome, Prompto realized. The scourge was a disease of which no one knew the source or the cause, and it had shown its head over 10 years ago for the first time. It’d been manageable then, with only a few infected every 2 or 3 months… but recently…

Though what this had to do with them, he wasn’t sure.

“Has it really gotten so bad?” Hilda asked, and Prompto could tell she was getting worried now. “I thought the antidote was set to be distributed last week…”

“It was…” Mateus admitted. “Unfortunately, it’s provided less than favorable results. Hence it’s been decided to adjust our plans accordingly.”

There was flag number 4… big one this time.

Hilda was frowning, but Prompto wasn’t sure if it was because she was actually worried about the situation or if she was taking her brother’s words into consideration. Still, he didn’t open his mouth to say anything about it; opening his mouth with both Mateus and the chancellor there? Nope. Bad idea.

“I see… so… what’s the plan now, exactly?” Hilda asked finally.

“Oh, it’s quite simple, actually,” Chancellor Izunia said in that usual casual tone of his that he liked to use whenever he spoke as if it was a bright, sunny day and nowhere near the end of the world for their Empire. “I’m certain you’ve heard of the fact that Lucis does not suffer from the scourge as we have here…”

Bigger red flag…

“This is, very likely, thanks to the light of their Crystal. However,” the man continued as he leisurely walked past Mateus’ chair to stand on the other side, “the Crystal is heavily guarded within the city of Insomnia…”

Even _bigger_ red flag…

“And as such,” the chancellor continued despite Prompto’s (likely) obvious worry, trailing his fingers along the back of one of the chairs, “it’s been decided to send an envoy to Lucis on the Empire’s behalf.”

Ain’t no flag big or red enough…

Hilda clearly caught on as well, as was clear by the frown on her face. “An envoy…? And you believe they will not be stopped before ever approaching Lucis?”

There was no denying that; with the mounting tensions between Niflheim and Lucis, and the threat of war more prominent than ever, Lucis had begun to implement stricter immigration laws. While refugees from Niflheim were still permitted entry, that was only after a thorough background check to ensure that those claiming to be refugees actually _were_ refugees. Lucis had been burnt too many times already, and they were not accepting it again.

So sending an envoy with the tensions that high was not something that was bound to work.

“In normal situations, they would not permit it, no,” Mateus said, and Prompto definitely didn’t like where this was going. “However… there should be no issues with a family ‘fleeing’ from the Empire… seeking asylum in Insomnia.”

…oh no…

“Mateus…” Hilda started, and the look on her face was a dangerous one; one of a mother seeking to protect her child. “Are you honestly suggesting… to have an envoy travel to Lucis under the guise of refugees? Did you not even consider that this will only cause more strain between the two nations?”

“Perhaps so… however, if we were to think of this for the good of the Empire, gaining access to Lucis is our greatest priority,” Mateus pointed out. “And as you have already pointed out, sister, Lucis will not be prepared to accept an envoy so easily.” Letting the woman digest that, Mateus waited a moment before speaking again. “In any situation, a fleeing family would be the most likely to be permitted entry into Lucis.”

“And so you intend to send us into a potential war zone, simply to obtain information about the Crystal?”

“At ease, sister,” Mateus said firmly to ward off any further backlash, because no one wanted to deal with Hilda in a bad mood. “I would never willingly send my own blood into a ‘war zone’, as you so aptly put it.” Once Hilda had calmed, he said: “However, because you _are_ part of the Imperial line, I would not trust any other with such a task… lest some boorish buffoon aggravates the Royal Line of Lucis.”

Somehow, Prompto felt like that was a jab at his plebeian origins. He hated how Mateus saw fit to constantly remind him of this, when Mateus himself had once been at the same level as Prompto.

Not that he was ever going to bring that up, of course. He liked his limbs attached, thank you very much.

“Yet you would send us off at a whim?”

“Ah, there’s no need to be so hostile, Milady,” the chancellor said calmly, his mouth still arched up in that infernal smirk. “We would never dream of simply sending you off unprepared… and we are not forcing you to go.”

Prompto did _not_ like the pause in his words, there.

“In that case, there will be no issues with us not going, correct?”

The chancellor gave a half-shrug, though his expression did not shift at all. And that was definitely worrisome. He had a sinking feeling that, despite the words, there was going to be a ‘but’ coming there. And it was going to be a bad one…

“I fear it isn’t that easy, sister…”

_There_ it was…

Hilda was frowning at her brother, on the verge of glaring, but Prompto was fairly sure it wouldn’t do them any good. Whatever they had to say, it was going to be bad.

“His Imperial Majesty has already made the necessary arrangements for your departure…” Mateus said and Prompto caught the hint of a smirk that was threatening to overtake his face, reinforcing his earlier thoughts about this being bad. And then he finished with; “Considering young Aurora’s condition, it seemed more than reasonable.”

Immediately, Prompto’s blood froze. He wasn’t sure what Mateus was talking about, but he had a feeling it had to do with the one thing he’d been dreading to hear since that morning…

Due to the scourge’s rapid spread, many organizations had begun to run tests in an attempt to spot the disease early and, hopefully, allow for swift treatment and prevent unnecessary deaths. One of the places where they had recently begun to employ this was at daycares, to test the youngest people of the populace.

Today had been the day of said test for their child’s daycare.

Prompto had to actually bite his lip to keep himself from speaking up, because that would end in a disaster, he knew. And thankfully, he didn’t actually need to; Hilda was on it, already.

Her expression immediately became poisonous, as it did when she was about to defend her child from some impending evil, and that was a sign for Prompto to keep sticking back, lest he aggravates his wife (any further). “What are you implying, Mateus?” she demanded, even though Prompto was pretty sure she knew damn well what it was her brother was implying.

“Oh? You haven’t gotten the results, yet?”

While Prompto was pretty sure that the test results might have been sent to them already, due to both their duties (as menial as they were), there hadn’t been any time to read it as of yet. But what worried him was that both Mateus and the Emperor had gotten hold of the file before them and had immediately constructed this elaborate scheme around the whole thing. Because, really, that was the only thing it _could_ be leading to.

“How did you get the results ahead of us, Mateus?” Hilda continued to be demanding, as she had every right to be, of course. This _was_ her daughter Mateus was talking about, after all.

And Mateus’ only response to the words was a hum as if he hadn’t just invaded the privacy of his own sister. Hilda wasn’t even asking about the results of the test, Prompto noticed, though it was probably no wonder with the few snippets of information Mateus had already given them. But despite the obvious hints, Prompto _had_ to know for sure. He _had_ to know for sure that Mateus wasn’t just making shit up in order to manipulate them into moving to his will.

“Do you… have the results here?” he finally dared to ask, the first words he’d uttered since entering the room.

His brother-in-law didn’t even bother to respond to the question verbally; merely reached into the manila folder that had been on the table next to him and pulled out a single file with the emblem of Aurora’s daycare on the front. This he then passed to Chancellor Izunia, who (leisurely) handed it off to Hilda, as if he didn’t hold a potential guillotine over a child’s neck… coz that was what it felt like.

Hilda almost snatched the small booklet from the chancellor’s fingers, throwing him a glare, before she put it down and flipped it open. Prompto immediately stepped up behind her to read over her shoulder. She normally hated him doing that, but he knew that, in this case, exceptions could be made.

He skimmed over the legal bits that explained the test, the reason for it being conducted, and the steps to be taken after its conclusion, and he was sure Hilda was doing the same. And when he finally read the results of the test, his heart almost stopped and his breath hitched.

Aurora had tested positive for the scourge…

“Well, then…” the chancellor said in that same casual tone as always, and Prompto wanted to hit him. _Hard_. Possibly where the sun don’t shine… as long as it _hurt_. “Should I request your bags to be packed, then?”

Had Hilda no slammed the test results on the table with a resounding slam, while at the same time shooting up to her feet fast enough to knock over her chair, Prompto might’ve actually shouted at the infuriating man. “Don’t bother,” she stated coldly. “We’ll arrange it ourselves.”

As she finished saying those words, though, she actually glanced over at him from the corner of her eyes, possibly to gauge his reaction. And it was no wonder; with how she had just exclaimed that they were leaving for Lucis without consulting him first, because, really, that was a _huge_ decision to make. And any other day, he would’ve said something about it.

But this wasn’t any other day…

“Right,” he confirmed without even looking at the other men, as he took Hilda’s hand and squeezed it gently. “We can do this alone. But _thanks_.”

The sharp tone of the last word was the closest he could ever get to displaying his disdain for either his brother-in-law or the chancellor, and they probably knew it, but they said nothing about it as he and Hilda left the room, the test results crumpled in Hilda’s hand.

He could swear he saw Mateus smirk, but he chalked it up to a trick of the light… for now.

 

Prompto knew better than to get in Hilda’s way when she was angry, so instead of offering to help with packing (which he probably should’ve anyway, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t want the help), he informed her he would be picking up Aurora from the daycare. This also gave him some breathing room to think of a way to tell her that they would be leaving soon… possibly today if Hilda could help it.

As he walked down the street, he took a deep breath to prepare himself, as the building came into range, briefly clenching his hands as he stepped up to the metal fence. After scanning his card, he moved through the large fence and walked toward the door, stepping through quietly.

After greeting the staff members with a smile and a nod, he stepped into the play area. It took him only a few moments to spot his little girl, and, putting on his best smile, he moved over to the far side where she was playing dolls.

“Hey, sweetie,” he said as he sat down next to her, making her look up quickly.

And it took her only a moment to break into a bright smile of her own and scurry into his lap with a cheery cry of “Daddy!!”

Any who saw him and Aurora together would need only a moment to realize that the little girl was his daughter. She had the same hair color, eye color, and shape, and even had his freckles, which dotted most of her face. The only thing she seemed to have inherited from her mother was the curly hair, and that was really it. So yes, she was almost like a gender-swapped mini-clone of Prompto, and while it sometimes annoying to Hilda, she was as in love with the little girl as he was.

Prompto smiled as he lifted the little five-year-old up into his arms properly, holding her close. “Did you have fun, sweetie?”

“Uh-huh,” the little blonde chirped with a cheery nod. “I played with the new dollies!”

At that tidbit of news, Prompto almost frowned, catching the unspoken words. However, he chose to not bring it up at the moment, as he settled into a better position, setting the girl in his lap.

“Hey, Aurora, sweetie? I have a question for you.”

“Huh…?”

“How would you like it… if we went on a trip? On a train, and then on a boat?”

“…trip? Where to?”

Prompto bit his lip for a moment, not sure how to explain the situation to his little girl in a way that she would actually understand. In the end, he decided on playing it safe and not mentioning the actual place they were going to; he doubted that his little girl knew where Lucis was, anyway.

“We’re going to go across the sea, hun. You remember what the sea is, right?”

It took Aurora a few moments before the question seemed to register properly, but when it did, she spoke slowly, cautiously. “That’s… that’s the big-big water… right?”

“That’s right. Would you like to see that? To go to the other side of the big water?”

She blinked, twice, before a smile played over her face and she nodded, twice. “Uh-huh! I wanna go to the other sides!”

Prompto smiled in slight relief when his little girl didn’t even question the sudden decision to go on a trip. Though, really, given her age, it probably wasn’t that strange. And to be fair, it was better that way. He honestly didn’t want to tell his little girl of exactly _why_ they were going.

“Okay. Let’s go get your shoes and coat, and then we can go pack your bag, alright?”

“Can I take Boco, too?”

“Of course you can take Boco, sweetie. You can also take Stiltzkin with you this time.”

“I can take both?!”

“Yes, sweetie, you can.”

“ _Yaaaay!_ ”

Prompto smiled as he stood up, taking hold of her hand and leading her off, lightly squeezing her little hand in his own.

‘ _Don’t worry, sweetie… I won’t let anything happen to you…_’


	2. Guarding the Queen

The very moment that Noctis received the summons to meet with his father not in the study or the throne room but in his own room, he knew it was bad. Whenever his father had anything to say that was important, it was always in either the throne room (for official business) or the study (when it concerned private matters). So being summoned to his room of all things, that immediately set off alarm bells in the Crown Prince’s head, because, really, what would make Regis summon him there?

Hell, even his arranged marriage with Luna had been discussed in the study, so he didn’t understand what could lead to the sudden change. But he had a feeling it was _bad_ from the moment he’d registered Cor’s words.

Despite Regis’ position as the 113th King of Lucis, he had always looked after Noctis and raised him the same way as most other kids would be raised. Well, mostly, anyway. There’d always be responsibilities that weighed especially heavy on Noctis, but aside from the formal meetings and royal obligations, he was still raised very normally. Though in the end, this hadn’t made much of an impact on his social life. In fact, Noctis would even go as far as to say he didn’t _have_ a social life outside of the Citadel.

Really, the only real “friends” he ever had were Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia, and his wife, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Okay, and maybe Luna’s brother, who had remained in Tenebrae to take over after the passing of their mother, but he and Ravus weren’t on the best of terms. Never really had been, to be fair. Even now that they were technically family, things were rocky, at best, between them.

Of that small group, he wasn’t sure if he could even count Ignis and Gladio, since they’d been in service of his father for years, so something their “friendship” felt almost forced at times. Still, he liked to believe he actually _could_ count them as friends…

After shaking the matter off, he stepped up to the door to his father’s room and knocked on the heavy door.

“It’s open, Noct,” his father’s voice called out through the door, and Noctis frowned at the tone. There was something _off_ about it… he could tell.

And the moment he stepped inside, he realized why.

Gasping in alarm, Noctis quickly shut the door and hurried over to his father’s bedside. “Dad! Are you alright?!” he asked as he nearly stumbled to his knees as Regis pushed up with a groan.

“Don’t worry, son,” Regis assured him as he settled back against the headboard, the white gauze dotted with red along his right shoulder. “The injury’s not as bad as it looks.” After a moment of lightly rubbing over his shoulder, the elderly regent finally let his hand rest within his lap. “I merely need some time to recover properly.”

This news made Noctis sigh in relief as he let himself relax, finally. Once his muscles weren’t drawn as taut, he moved up to sit on the bed itself. Now that he was sure his father was going to be fine, he finally decided to bring up the subject he now realized his father had called him in for. “What happened? More Niffs?” The last part had been whispered, even though he knew there was no one there to listen in on them.

“Yes,” Regis said with a sigh and a nod. “Templars, to be specific.”

“I see… so they’re trying to find _it_ again, huh?”

“I can only imagine they are… While there was no proof for it, given what we’ve seen of them so far, it’s only logical to assume that to be their reason for being in Lucis.”

Noctis nodded his head in agreement, trying not to frown too much as worry began to claw at his gut. “Were they the ones who…?”

“No; they also brought a number of MT’s with them.”

“Ah… right… those are unpredictable…” He released a heavy sigh as he settled on the bed a little better. “But… you got ‘em, right?”

Regis chuckled softly at the worry lining his son’s voice, but he nodded with a warm smile. “Yes, I did, don’t worry. If they’re wise, they’ll not show themselves for a while.”

This made Noctis share his smile, though his was a little more relieved than his father’s cheeky one. However, it soon faded and he frowned. “But what if they decide to come anyway?”

At this point, Regis’ expression turned serious as well. “If they do decide to do so, then we will simply have to show them the error of their ways.”

“But you’re—”

“I know; my injuries won’t permit me to do so,” Regis said with a small chuckle. “Hence why I asked you to come.”

As soon as Regis finished saying that, Noctis realized what his father meant to say. His expression turned serious immediately, and he settled on his father’s bed a little better. “I see… so you want me to look into it?”

“Yes. I know that this would take away from your time with Regina, but with the way things are right now, I fear we might not have any other choice.” At this point Regis paused for a moment, giving his son the chance to digest that knowledge. “I know you don’t want to miss anything of your daughter’s life, and I wish there was another way, but…”

“It’s fine, Dad,” Noctis assured. “I’d already prepared myself for the fact I would have to take over. True, I wasn’t expecting it to be this fast, but I was ready for this ever since Regina was born.”

Not a lie; he had definitely been preparing himself for this ever since Luna had come up to him with the news that she was expecting. Even before that, he’d known it was coming, _knew_ it would eventually come to this, and most importantly, he _knew_ it was a necessity, for the sake of Insomnia. Even if it meant that he wouldn’t be there for his little girl all the time, but at the same time, he knew that he couldn’t sit back and wait for the enemy to come to them. He had to be proactive if he wanted to protect his family.

Regis smiled softly, before he held out his good arm to his son. And Noctis didn’t waste a moment as he moved forward and allowed his father to pull him into a one-armed hug. As they hugged, though, Noctis said with a half-chuckle: “Besides, Regina’s still got her ‘Grandpapa’ there to have fun with her.”

This made the King laugh warmly. “I suppose you have a point, Noct,” he agreed. “However, that’s no reason for you to go and be reckless.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Noct chuckled. “Not with the little princess waiting for me. She’d never let me live it down.”

Father and son shared a laugh at those words, before Regis lightly slapped his son on the back. “Alright… Would you care to be properly informed of the mission, then?”

“May be smart, yes,” Noctis agreed, as he moved from the bed to sit in the nearby chair.

Regis nodded briefly, before he picked up a pair of communicators from where he had placed them and handed one to Noctis. Once both of them had set them up, Regis opened up the connection he had already prepared ahead of time. “This is Caderyn. Niche, come in.”

Noctis frowned a little at the name, but he quickly shook it off. He remembered the rules that no one was permitted use their actual names, and everyone was to use codenames when on missions. While he had heard of his father’s codename before then, he’d never heard him use it in the prince’s presence.

“ _This is Niche. What can I do for you, Milord?_ ” a female voice echoed over the comm. system.

“Niche, I fear I will be unable to accompany you on the mission to Lestallum,” the King said solemnly. “While superficial, my wounds are not minor enough to allow me to proceed as planned.”

“ _…Understood, Milord. Do we require to reschedule the mission or must we improvise?_ ”

“Neither, Niche,” Regis said with a small smirk. “I will be sending one of my pupils to you in my stead. He’s not been on official missions yet, but I have faith that he will prove his worth in this mission.”

There was a long silence that followed the statement, before there was a small grunt, followed by the woman’s voice again. “ _I’m usually not one to handle newbloods, Milord, but if you believe he will no compromise the mission, I will see that the mission proceeds as planned._ ”

“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Noctis tried not to openly smirk. Even if his father used a codename, he was fairly sure that everyone knew who he was, so disobeying his orders was like asking to be either discharged or even expelled. Though he wondered if that would go for him as well, since he was the Crown Prince. On one hand, that would make things easier, but on the other it would only complicate matters. Plus, he was actually hoping for people to not treat him all high and mighty like he was someone whose very footsteps were to be worshipped wherever he went.

Really, was it so much to ask for people to treat him normally?

“ _And am I safe to assume, Milord, that the one listening in on our conversation is this pupil you speak of?_ ” Niche suddenly asked, which almost made Noctis jump, but Regis laughed.

“Sharp as always, Niche. That is correct. I believed it’s better for you to get acquainted before meeting face-to-face.”

“ _Understood, Milord,_ ” Niche said firmly. “ _Does this pupil have a name, too?_ ”

Rather than respond, Regis looked to Noctis, and the prince nodded his head in silent understanding. While he’d never used one before then, he had been given a codename since he was old enough to understand what was happening and the truth of his family lineage.

“My name is Aeterna,” he said firmly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Niche.”

“ _Just Niche is fine… for now,_ ” the woman said solemnly. “ _And perhaps we should leave the pleasantries for later. We have other, more important matters to discuss._ ”

“Understood,” Noctis said with a firm nod, even though the gesture would not be seen by this woman. “What’s the situation?”

“ _Simple enough; we got Templars making themselves too comfy in Lestallum. We don’t know what they’re looking for or what they intend to do there. The primary objective is to figure that out, and once we’re sure of that, we can proceed to either drive them out, or get rid of them entirely._ ”

Noctis frowned in question. “With all due respect, if the Templars are our enemy, shouldn’t we take them out regardless?”

“ _No; if they’re not here to interfere with anything, we simply remove them from Lestallum and make them leave. However, if they have the clear intention to either hunt us down or bother the inhabitants in any way, then the hunted will become the hunter and they won’t live to regret their arrival in our lands._ ”

Noctis wasn’t sure if he understood the reasoning, but he figured he’d probably learn that over time. He hadn’t actively been a part of this, after all, so it would make sense that there’d be things he didn’t understand entirely right of the bat. “Understood.”

“ _Do you really?_ ” Niche mumbled, before there was a somewhat derisive snort. “ _Whatever. We can discuss all that later… I’ll see you at the guild house. Niche out._ ”

And then the connection was cut off.

“Huh… pleasant, ain’t she?” Noctis murmured, drawing a laugh from Regis.

“Don’t mind Niche; she takes her duties very seriously, but she’s a good teacher. She may be a little grumpy, but that’s nothing you shouldn’t be unfamiliar with.”

That made Noctis laugh, because, yes, he _was_ used to grumpy teachers. He wasn’t sure if there’d ever be anyone who could match up with Gladio, but given from what he’d just heard, Niche was very close to it. He just hoped she’d not revert to someone more subservient once she realized who she was going to be working with…

“Anyway, is there anything I need to know going into this?” Noctis asked after a moment.

“There is one thing, yes…” Regis admitted, and Noctis frowned at the serious note to his father’s voice. “This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but there have been reports stating that the Templars may have come to Lucis on board of an immigration vessel hailing. Sometimes even posing themselves as fugitives from Niflheim.”

At those words, Noctis couldn’t help but scowl, and his hands clenched firmly. He didn’t want to say anything, but, in the back of his mind, he’d always been afraid of something like this happening. While he was certainly not against immigration from anywhere, because he felt like everyone had the right to come to Lucis, there _was_ the issue of illegal immigration that was he did not approve of. Sure, fugitives should be given priority over other immigrants, but if they were just posing as fugitives, then Noctis had no compassion for them if they were deported back to where they had come from.

However, that would make things so much more difficult…

“So… we need to figure out who’s fugitive or immigrant, and who’s Templar, huh?”

“When you want to put it that way, yes.”

“Great…” Noctis sighed softly. “I guess there’s no way around that, huh?”

“I’m afraid not, Noct.”

“Right…” After a few more moments, he took a heavy breath and then stood up. “Anyway, I should probably pick up Regina from kindergarten… before she starts worrying.”

Regis allowed a warm chuckle. “Yes… wouldn’t want her to worry _too_ much.” He nodded once, before saying: “Go ahead. You’re dismissed.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Noctis said with a smile, nodding his head before he headed off.

 

Despite how close Noctis was with his little girl, he didn’t often have the time to pick her up personally. He definitely tried to do so whenever he could, but because of his duties, he just wasn’t able to do so as often as he would’ve liked. So, whenever he had the opportunity to pick her up, he would.

On top of that, seeing the way her face lit up at the sight of the Regalia was always worth the effort.

When he arrived at the building and had parked the car, he quickly put on his black cap, just to offer him a little bit of a disguise, before he stepped out from the car. He could already see a lot of the kids running out and around, as they waited for their parents to pick them up. He was a little early; normally the playground was empty by the time he showed up and Regina would be waiting by the entrance.

He wasn’t overly surprised to not see his daughter among the kids still running around. He still remembered himself having had no real friends during his school days, given his status as Crown Prince of Insomnia. And even though Regina was not really ‘Crown Princess’, yet, her title as princess still hung over her head, stifling almost any attempt she could’ve made to make any friends… anywhere, really.

So it was really no wonder that Regina was as withdrawn around other people as she was.

‘ _Speak of the devil…_ ’ he thought to himself as he watched the small girl exiting the building, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her shorts.

She didn’t notice him immediately as she walked out, since she was a little too focused on walking down the steps. However, the moment she looked up and spotted him, her eyes lit up, and then she let a small smile appear on her face, before she came running over. This made Noctis smiled as he lowered himself down and held out his arms to her.

“Papa!” she cried as she leaped up against him, throwing her arms around his neck even as his own came up around her in turn.

“Hey there, princess,” he greeted with a soft chuckle, before he moved to kiss her to her temple. “How’s your day been?”

The moment he asked that, Noctis felt her mood deflate. “…okay… I guess…” she mumbled as they pulled away from each other.

Noctis tried to not let it get to him, because he knew that his little girl didn’t want to admit to her not having made a single friend, again. He’d never heard her speaking of a friend she’d made there, and Luna never mentioned her speaking of one, either, so it was safe to assume she didn’t have any. Initially, he’d attempted to make her mingle with the other children, but despite his best intentions, nothing had ever come from it, and so, after a while, he’d simply let it be.

As they drove home, Noctis looked back at his little girl briefly through the rearview window. She was like a perfect replica of him, and it was difficult to find even one thing in her that resembled her mother. Her short hair was as black as his own, her eyes the same shade of blue as well. Despite that, she loved both her parents very much, and they loved her in turn.

Still, that didn’t stop him from wishing for his little girl to find an actual friend someday.

 

Upon return to the Citadel, Regina spent the next few hours until dinner playing video games. Noctis was well aware that many would argue that kids should be playing outside with others their own age. But Regina had no one to play with, so why even bother? Luna understood, thankfully, and as long as Regina wasn’t allowed to play anything that wasn’t meant for kids her age, she was perfectly fine with the little girl playing video games as she did.

Speaking of Luna, he’ll have to talk to her about the upcoming mission. Thankfully, he’s had long enough to figure out how to tell her about it without actually informing her of the _real_ reason. While he certainly trusted her, she was completely unaware of his family’s darker side, as very few are. And though he trusted her to not judge him on this, he refused to have her be involved in this.

After dropping off his little girl in the game room, where she immediately settled with her sim game, continuing to work on recreating the Citadel in game form (something she’d been working on for almost a week already), he headed out to find Luna. And thankfully, he didn’t have to look long for her; she was in the library, as she usually was when she had the time to relax.

“Hey, Luna,” he said softly as he approached, making her look up. When she noticed him, she smiled before tagging her book and shutting it to give him her full attention.

“Hello, Noctis,” she greeted. “Is something wrong?”

“Not ‘wrong’, per se,” he admitted. “However, my father’s given me an assignment in Lestallum. Not a difficult or long one, mind you, but I’ll have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Though the news clearly worried Luna somewhat, he could tell, she didn’t question the suddenness of the assignment. “I understand… Regina won’t be happy, though…”

“I know,” Noctis agreed. “Meaning I’m going to have to get her a good souvenir when I come back.”

This made Luna giggle. “True. Better make it extra special for her, then.”

“Haha. Will do,” Noctis said with a nod and a chuckle.

He was just glad that Luna chose to not question him about the assignment, and he made a mental note to definitely get her a souvenir from Lestallum as well, to make up for her having to stay behind and watch Regina on her own. Not that he thought looking after the little girl was a problem, but, in his opinion, taking care of a child should never fall onto one of the two parents if they were still together.

After shaking those thoughts away, he headed off to get things set up.

‘ _Guess it’s finally time for me to be the one protecting my family, huh?_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note; the boys are 25 years old.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a single chapter introducing both Prompto and Noctis' side of the story, but somehow this single chapter ended up becoming six pages long. Oops.  
> Noctis shows up in the next chapter so please be patient.
> 
> Rating may change and I will add tags as they come up since I don't have the entire story set up yet.


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